MEETING

Monday, April 6, 2009

Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.

Amarillo Southwest Library 6801 Southwest 45^th Street 

Visitors are always welcome. 

OUR PROGRAM WILL BE:  

THE NATIONAL ROADbyStephen Chase 

Amarillo Genealogical Society member, Stephen Chase, will talk to us about the National Road.  Stephen asks, “If your grandparents migrated from the midwest to the west on ‘The Mother Road’ (Route 66), how did their grandparents get to the midwest from the northeast?  Answer: the ‘granddaddy’ of all United States roads, ‘The National Road.’”  The history of The National Road relates to family history, and an understanding of this road is vital to anyone researching their early American families.  We are fortunate to have someone who can shed light on this little-known subject.  Make plans to attend the April meeting and hear Stephen Chase. We will also have the annual election of officers who will serve the 2009-10 year. 

Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m.

Amarillo Southwest Library 6801 Southwest 45^th Street 

Visitors are always welcome. 

OUR PROGRAM WILL BE:  

THE NATIONAL ROAD

byStephen Chase 

Amarillo Genealogical Society member, Stephen Chase, will talk to us about the National Road.  Stephen asks, “If your grandparents migrated from the midwest to the west on ‘The Mother Road’ (Route 66), how did their grandparents get to the midwest from the northeast?  Answer: the ‘granddaddy’ of all United States roads, ‘The National Road.’”  The history of The National Road relates to family history, and an understanding of this road is vital to anyone researching their early American families.  We are fortunate to have someone who can shed light on this little-known subject.  Make plans to attend the April meeting and hear Stephen Chase. We will also have the annual election of officers who will serve the 2009-10 year.  

LAST MEETINGAric Brown showed us why we should have Cyndi’s List, http://www.cyndislist.com/, at the top of our Favorites list.  He explained that Cyndi’s List is “a card catalog to the genealogical collections available on the internet.”  Cyndi’s List is:·       A categorized & cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet. ·       A list of links that point you to genealogical research sites online. ·       A free jumping-off point for you to use in your online research. ·       A "card catalog" to the genealogical collection in the immense library that is the Internet. ·       Your genealogical research portal onto the Internet. Aric told us that the internet became available for general use around 1991, and that Cyndi’s List was started by Cindy Howell in 1996.  The list grows month by month, and at present there are over 264,000 links to sites in 180 categories. Cyndi’s List has no genealogical data but is an easy to use source to find links to sites which do hold the data we are looking for.  You can search the site by using several different indexes: ·      Main Index ·      Topical Index ·      Alphabetical Index ·      "No Frills" Index ·      Text-Only IndexSince the internet is a fluid thing, the list is not perfect—sometimes the links turn out to be spam, but as soon as they are found, the links are removed.  Sometimes the links are broken, and you are asked to notify Cyndi when that happens so they can be removed or repaired.Cyndi has teamed up with Google and you can use the special Google search box at the right-hand top of the screen to search Cyndi’s List or to search the entire Web.  There is also a section, “Googling for Grandma” which has  basic search information, as well as “Google for Genealogy.” 

After answering our questions on Cyndi’s List, Aric touched briefly on some other important sites for genealogy searching, such as http://www.footnote.com/ - this site has a lot of original documents from the National and State Archives.  Of special interest to Texas researchers are the actual birth and death records from the Texas indexes.  As with most sites, they are constantly adding new data, so it is worthwhile to go back and look for your people every few months. 

Aric mentioned that the paid subscription sites such as Ancestry.com and footnote.com will sometimes give you a better price if you hold out and don’t join up right away.  This is interesting information for those of us who have a hard time coming up with the money to join all the sites we would like to search.  Most of the subscriptions sites also offer a limited “get acquainted” period, and Aric suggested you could pick a week when you have a lot of time to search and use the site for free during that period.The Amarillo Public library has the library version of Ancestry.com, which we can search for free by going to the library and using their computer.  (With the second floor of the central library closed for renovations,we will have to wait a while before we can use this resource) Amarillo Public Library also offers Heritage Quest which we can use on our home computers by going through the library site.  To use Heritage Quest online:·      http://www.amarillolibrary.org/ ·      click on Tex-Share ( about mid-way down the left hand side)·      get the User Name and Password by calling the Amarillo Library.·      click on Heritage Quest On-lineOnce into the Heritage Quest site you have six options: Search Census; Search Books, Search PERSI; Search Revolutionary War; Search Freedman’s Bank; Search U.S. Serial Set.

And don’t forget the “old standards” for genealogical research:·      http://www.familysearch.org - the LDS web site.  They have a lot of new things, such as digitized versions of a lot of family books.·      Gen Web - http://usgenweb.org/·      Roots Web -  http://www. rootsweb.ancestry.com/  

MONEY, MONEY, MONEYThe Amarillo Genealogical Society now has 112 paid members. You all know the advantages of being a member of The Amarillo Genealogical Society, but have you tried lately to interest anyone else in joining?  Every time you meet someone doing research at the library or courthouse, etc., ask them if they are a member, and if they are not, tell them about us.  Mention the variety of programs we enjoy. Just this year, we have learned about taking care of our old photographs, searching the internet, and the World War II POW camp at Hereford.  Tell them about our October Seminars.  And remember, membership for the year is only $15.00 per individual or family.And if you have not yet renewed your own membership, use the application on the back of this newsletter and send it to Bob McGinnis, our Treasurer, at P.O. Box 2171, Amarillo, TX 79189.    

NEWS FROM THE AMARILLO CENTRAL LIBRARYFrom the Amarillo Public Library’s web site March 6, 2009: “The Central Library is being renovated for the first time in 30 years!  The second floor, including the Genealogy collection, is currently closed to the public while work is taking place in that area.  Central's collection of DVDs has been distributed to other Amarillo Public Library locations and videos are not currently available for check out through the Central Library. When renovations are complete, the second floor will serve as a "quiet place" for serious research, and high traffic materials such as fiction and media will be located on the first floor.  We appreciate your patience as we work to make the library better.  For more pictures of our progress, please check out the library's page on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amarillopubliclibrary.”  

COFFEE AND COOKIES DEPARTMENTBarbara West and Sharon Ratliff offered St. Patrick’s Day cookies along with our coffee.  Home-baked cookies.  

IN THE MONTHS TO COMEMay 4, 2009 - In addition to the installation of new officers, the May meeting will be “Show and Tell.”  If you have something to share, be sure and sign up at the April meeting to participate in May’s program.    

Colcannon

If you don’t care for corned beef and cabbage, try Colcannon this St. Patrick’s Day.  Colcannon is a mashed combination of potatoes with cabbage. The potatoes are cooked and mashed while the cabbage is pan-fried with butter and onions. Then combine them both with milk or cream and season to taste. Arrange pan-fried smoked sausage on top of the dish.  As a side, peas and carrots seasoned with butter and a little nutmeg.  Add Irish Soda Bread, and, Begorrah, you have a traditional Irish meal.         

_____________________________________________________________________________MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION T

o join or renew your membership, complete the following information and mail to: THE AMARILLO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, P.O. Box 2171, Amarillo, TX 79189, Attention: Treasurer.  Better yet, bring this form to the next meeting. NAME ______________________________________________    ADDRESS  __________________________________________________________________________ CITY ______________________________ STATE __________________ ZIP _____________________ TELEPHONE ___________________ E-mail Address _______________________________________________________________________ Dues are due by January 1^st for each calendar year.                                             Date ______________ ____ New Membership               ____Renewal Membership ____ Individual and Family $15.00                                   ____  Contributing $25.00